D Culver City

Months after being forced from office by term limits, former Los Angeles City Councilman Nate Holden announced Monday that he will run for a state Assembly seat in the March election. Holden, 74, of Baldwin Hills, is seeking a return trip to Sacramento. He served four years in the state Senate before his 16-year stint on the City Council. "I will bring to Sacramento some knowledge about how to get the job done and how to protect the interests of the people," said Holden, a Democrat.

Will the powers-that-be at The Times ever learn that their job is to report the news, not create it? What else explains the decision to place the opening night story on the WNBA Sparks ahead of the Stanley Cup finals? Assigning two reporters to the half-empty Forum to cover the game while the hockey finals are covered by a lone journalist is additional evidence of your skewed perspective. ANDREW D. JAMNER Culver City If you gave track and field one fifth the coverage that you give the WNBA, you could--at least in Southern California--save a great sport.

Joining in the red, white and blue marketing frenzy that is sweeping America, California may offer motorists a patriotic Sept. 11 memorial license plate. High school students would compete for the right to design the plate by submitting sketches in a statewide contest under a bipartisan proposal unveiled Thursday by lawmakers and quickly backed by Gov. Gray Davis. The proceeds would be split between a scholarship fund for California children whose parents perished Sept.

Utilities and home builders are lining up against a bipartisan plan, supported by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, to turn sunny California into a solar power factory. The incentives to put solar panels on 1 million homes and businesses would mean higher costs for utility customers who can't participate: renters, condominium owners and those who won't be able to afford the technology even with financial help, said Southern California Edison and Pacific Gas & Electric.

Re "The Two Budget Titans Who Refuse to Budge," by George Skelton, June 5: It's a mistake to call Senate leader John Burton (D-San Francisco), Senate leader Jim Brulte (R-Rancho Cucamonga), Assembly Speaker Herb Wesson (D-Culver City) and Assembly Minority Leader Dave Cox (R-Fair Oaks) "leaders." No leader in a legislative position stands firm to the end on any important position. Leading politicians compromise to get some or most of what they desire. Especially so, as here, when to do otherwise risks statewide economic disaster.

Saying he did not want to become an "appellate traffic court," a federal judge issued a tentative ruling Monday dismissing a lawsuit by state Sen. Kevin Murray (D-Culver City), who claimed he was stopped while driving his Corvette in Beverly Hills because he is black. U.S. District Judge William D.

A federal judge on Tuesday threw out a lawsuit filed against the Beverly Hills Police Department by state Sen. Kevin Murray (D-Culver City), who claimed officers stopped him while driving because he is black. Murray was pulled over at about 2 a.m. on June 3 as he drove his Corvette through the intersection of LaCienega and Wilshire boulevards on the way home from celebrating his primary election victory.

George Skelton's quote from Senate Transportation Committee Chairman Kevin Murray (D-Culver City) in "Governor, Legislature Stopped in Gas Tax Gridlock" (July 9) that "it makes sense that people who pay sales tax on gasoline should get the benefits of it" ignores the fundamental principles of taxation and democracy in our society. If we based government spending on Murray's theories we would have government programs designed to benefit the rich, while the less fortunate in our society would fall by the wayside.

Shame on Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-Los Angeles), a losing candidate in last month's mayoral primary. How could he not know that his campaign paid for the outrageous phone calls--made in a voice sounding like Los Angeles County Supervisor Gloria Molina's--that smeared former Assembly Speaker Antonio Villaraigosa? If Becerra didn't know what his campaign was doing on his behalf, he should have. In the end, the dirty trick didn't help him much. He polled barely 6%.

In a setback for the Screen Actors Guild, Steve Diamond, an associate law professor and an advisor to the AFL-CIO, has removed himself from the running for the union's top staff position. Although Diamond was the leading candidate to be the guild's executive director, he could not reach agreement with the union on the terms of his contract. Sources close to the guild said Diamond withdrew his name from consideration Wednesday after seeking a higher salary than the union was willing to pay.